As IF Times

Source: Campaign shifts as Harper looks to protect seats in Ontario | Election 2015

The majority of Americans can be forgiven if they are unaware that an important Federal election is being held in the nation just to the north of them.  Given all of the media hoopla surrounding their own votes just over a year away, the activities in Canada likely don’t register on the GAF meter.

Nonetheless, it is important to Canadians and the results will ultimately affect Americans as well.  Anyone paying attention to the candidates will be struck by the stark similarity to the elections held in the U.S. some years ago.  Presently, the resurgent Liberal party is being led by the scion of a former Prime Minister whose party was summarily tossed out for years of irresponsible fiscal policies.  Justin Trudeau has precisely zero experience in managing or running any kind of enterprise.  He has exhibited all the charm of a rhetorical peacock supported by an army of enablers without regard to his obvious lack of tangible vision.  His position in the Liberal Party is solely due to his famous, or infamous last name.

Didn’t the Americans do the hope and change experiment for the last 7 years…with a person also lacking any life experience beyond academia and  wholly disconnected to reality ( as is now more and more evident ) by marshaling an army of ideological supporters?  How is that working out?

Now, this same campaign slogan for “change” is being purloined for Canadian use since it worked so well in the U.S. If you had the unfortunate occasion to listen to any of Justin’s  speeches, you’d swear you were attending a stand up comedy show as he parodies the rhetoric used by campaigners for hundreds of years everywhere.  It’s as if he was reading from the Campaigning 101 textbook of tired clichés.  Change…for the middle class…lower taxes…unite the people…more jobs…zzzzz.  It’s embarrassingly jejune.

But he’s just one guy.  The alarming aspect is that he’s being supported (apparently) by an enormous segment of the Canadian population who identify with his rhetoric.   The fact that Canada has been singularly an island of stability economically, socially and culturally in the world for the past decade is too much for people to take.  Far too dull and too Canadian.  Let’s have racial and religious strife, militant labor discord, soaring debt and a musical chairs style of government as they do in more interesting nations such as Italy or Greece.

With only a week to go before the formal vote, Trudeau has yet to play his big ace card.  Like the American president, he will reveal his true ability to lead by….speaking on Global Warming!

Canadians are being lured by the siren call of change from a position that is the envy of 99% of the world’s nations.  It’s like trading Tom Brady away for a guy with a better signal calling voice.  Maybe Trudeau isn’t the delusional one.

Source: Firestorm of criticism sparked by Peeple, app that lets users rate people | CTV News

So the other night, we finally got a chance to meet Dan.  We had heard a lot about him from others who had met him recently.  The encounter started off pleasantly enough, as he lived in a modest but well kept home in the up and coming part of the city.  Our first hint of his personality was the Prius parked out front.  Hmm, already giving off Hipster/Greenie vibes.

He answered the door politely although we could hear lots of furniture moving noises and what sounded like rushed scrambling before he appeared.  We were cheerfully invited inside, which was nice, but expected.  There was little in the way of furniture, but what was there was tasteful but not expensive.  A Le Corbusier lounge chair looked strangely inappropriate next to a later model Ikea wing chair.   We also noticed the magazines conspicuously on display including Architectural Digest and Travel and Leisure.  But in a pile just off to one side of the coffee table were also a stack of People magazines.  What this may show is cultured mind still in development.  Or it could be his girlfriend’s periodicals.

His appearance is acceptable by modern standards, with the obligatory 2 days growth of stubble and heavy framed glasses. There was no hint of Axe body perfume that so many hipsters wear these days.  Dan is about 5 feet 10 and in decent shape as others have noted.

We talked a bit about a number of topics including politics, pop culture, philosophy and also delved into a few of his hobbies and interests.  He exhibited a reasonably broad familiarity with most topics, if a bit shallow on depth.  We found that his worldviews are very much in line with populist opinions you’d find in this generation of people, but the Prius already gave us that hint.   We can see how previous raters would give Dan a good score, but for us, he was only average at best.  As someone to spend time with at social functions, he’d be a good candidate but we suspect boredom would set in after a while.  Ability to carry on a conversation was good and he was reasonably articulate. After 45 minutes, we left for another appointment and he politely showed us out.

All in all, a pleasant if unexciting experience.  That is not to knock Dan at all.  We think he would make an excellent companion and bar buddy.  Appearance is an 8 and personal deportment also an 8 if not a 9.  We would hang out with Dan again.

3 stars out of 5.